Monthly Archives: October 2014

Results Updated

The Wednesday after a Sunday meeting is usually pretty quiet but last night we had 7 heats 😎 . Traditionally this is our busiest time of the year and bearing that in mind, please can you all book in promptly once booking in is open. If you’re on site when booking in is open you’ve got no excuse. If you’re running late then just drop Alan a txt and we’ll get you in.

Meeting Format

The question of the meeting format is being raised again (as it does from time to time). The question is to the pros and cons of the 3 race system we run now vs a more traditional 2 or 3 leg qualifying and single race final format that most other clubs run. There are merits to both systems however the last time we tried it (which was about 3 years ago if I recall correctly) the majority of the club couldn’t wait for the trial to be over so they could get back to old format. The positive thing to come out of it was the switch from the 3 row starting grid to the staggered grid we use now.

Anyway, the question has been raised so talk amongst yourselves and if you take it to social media, please keep it civil. No-one benefits from dirty washing being aired in public… 🙄

Winter Series Round 2

Round 2 is on the 23rd of November 2014. Seems like it’s a long way away 😥 , but it’s not 😀

Results Updated

Busier week this week and the first of the new ramps made their debut appearance 🙂

Al’s big chat

Alan took the time this week to clear the air in response to some of the suggestions posted on social media. It culminated in a pole dance. It was a beautiful thing… 😉

“Homo Erectus“

In all seriousness though, The gist of his speech was this. We have always been, and will always be , a grass roots club but regardless of whether you are at the bottom, middle or the top of ‘The Pole’ you are welcome and important to the club. The enforced move away from the polished floor has had both positive and negative effects on the club and we are still trying to adapt and move forward to provide a safe, economical and competitive racing environment. With that in mind, Alan appolgised for the short notice at which the new motor and tyre rules will apply to those that want to enter into the club championships. If you just want to turn up and race once in a while, then you can run whatever tyre and motor combination you like. If you stick a fast motor in and drive like a tool though, expect to be taken aside for some constructive critisism…

What comes in and when…

2WD & 4WD Rear Control Tyre – Schumacher U6786

2WD & 4WD Front Tyre will remain free choice

The tyre rule applies from this Sunday for the whole Winter Series. Both shops will be selling them on the day. Because we are in the middle of a Wednesday night championship, the tyre rule for that will apply from January when the next championship starts.

7.5T Motor Limit

Remember it is a limit and not a mandated motor. You can run ‘slower motors’ legally within the championship and with the right ESC settings they can be just as fast. There will be an amnesty for the first round of the Winter Series but it will be applied from Round 2. As with the tyres, The rule for Wednesdays will be applied from the next championship in January.

Winter Series

It all starts this Sunday. Don’t forget the clocks go back this weekend! We still don’t know yet if we can get in on Saturday for the track build. Assuming we can then the doors will open at 8 on Sunday. If not then it will be earlier but I’ll update this when we know.

The astro has been down for a few weeks now. There’s no denying it’s changed the racing at FORCC – some prefer it, some may feel it’s proven detrimental to the racing – but whatever your thoughts there’s a couple of points I’d like to remind you of:

1 – The choice to change surface was not ours. We were left with 2 alternatives – either close the club , or find an alternative surface to use.

2 – An awful lot of work went into securing the surface so we could carry on racing. Even if you’re not so keen on the astro you have to respect the effort that went in so that option 1 above didn’t become a reality.

Yes it’s taken a while to get used to, and one area which isn’t quite working as it should are the track markings. But trust me, watch this space, you’ll be pleasantly surprised what the coming weeks hold in that respect.

As for other changes in the pipeline, and after much discussion, the following changes will be coming into effect:

Tyres – a control tyre will be introduced as soon as possible. Schumacher yellow blocks on the rear axle of 2wd and 4wd will become mandatory IF you wish to score points in FORCC championships. Tyre choice for front axles is free, as are both axles for Stadium and Short Course trucks.

Motors – a 7.5 motor limit will be enforced shortly as the lowest turn you can run at FORCC at any meeting, and this applies to all classes. That doesn’t mean you’ve got to dash out and buy a 7.5 motor. 7.5 is the lowest you can run. So if you have a 8.5, 10.5 or 13.5 (and we’ve all got those) then you’re fine to run that. With the introduction of the astro, speeds have increased and some drivers are running beyond their means with little more than Excocet missiles on 4 wheels which is not safe. We hope with the introduction of a motor limit it will introduce a more level playing field – it will do away with the attitude of “how can I compete with a 5.5 when I’ve only got a 7.5”

Onto the FORCC 2014/15 Winter Series now – round one is only just over a week away on the 26 October. There will be an amnesty on the motor limit for Round 1 so don’t panic! Tyres however will be available on the day from both Ralls Racing and Xtreme so there’s no reason why the tyre ruling cannot be adhered to for Round 1.

You can enter 2 classes maximum – booking can be done ahead or just arrive and drive it’s up to you.

Just a word of warning for those not aware of the A2 roadworks in place at weekends currently – the A2 coastbound is closed from J7 of the M2 – Brenley Corner roundabout – so if you’re coming from any direction other than Thanet you’ll need to leave the Thanet Way at the Northbound exit immediately after J7 – it’s only a few hundred yards.
50 yards up this road take a left (at the crossroads) and follow the flyover back over the Thanet Way. Turn right at the end and follow this road (with caution) till you reach a small crossroads and turn right into Bull Lane. This will bring you to the Village Hall entrance from the other end

If you are coming from the Thanet end then leave the Thanet Way just before Brenley Corner and follow the road until you reach the Bull Lane crossroads.

I hope to be doing more updates both on here and Facebook as we’ve been too quiet of late. It’s time to shout a bit louder about what we do

So keep an eye out, and of course there are always regular updates on the club site www.forcc.co.uk – this is FORCC V2 don’t forget!

Results Updated

Tyres

There is a proposal on the table to introduce a ‘Rear Axle Only’ control tyre for the club championships from January. It is not proposed that we introduce a control tyre for the front Axle and this would apply to both 2WD and 4WD. The tyre is the Yellow Schumacher Block (U6786)

So to clarify, this would be a championship control tyre only so you can still turn up and race with whatever tyres you like but if you want to enter the club championships, you’ll need to put the blocks on the rear. A lot of people are moving to the blocks anyway so we don’t think this will have a huge impact by the time we get to January.

We are not proposing to introduce a control tyre for the forthcoming winter series.